Dublin Fire Brigade

lemonhead77

Hi folks, ive just been inquiring about joining the DFB and i understand that they are only now doing the training for the last bunch of recruits so this means they will not be recruiting again for another couple of years. Does anyone here know of any courses that i can do in the mean time to help my chances when the next recruit comes up. Is there anywhere foreign that i can apply to, to work in there fire department which agian would greatly helpme when applying for DFB in 2 years.
Thanks in advance

Fyr.Fytr

Hi lemon head, like police services fire services in other countries tend to require your to live there for a few years before applying (to do full checks on you etc)

As for courses, im doing nursing because a) its something i want to do and b: mite just come in handy with regards to the ambulance side of the brigade.

Engineering was mentioned to me, but its in the aspect of fire prevention, not my cup of tea, might be yours.

Do a degree/course that you want to do, that's what ive been told the whole way through.

I don't know you but am speaking for the perspective of an 18 y/o only fresh from the leaving cert so its a long road for me yet.

Also try one of the vols, be it civil defence for eighter their casualty section, aux fire service, water rescue etc or st john ambulance or the order of malta, to get your skills up to make it a little bit easier for recruit training, also they're great fun and look good on a cv


Thats all i cant think of, anymore just ask

johnnyrotten

Hi Lemonhead,

Do a 1st Aid course and/or join Order of Malta / St. Johns ambulance etc.
As said the AFS is a good thing to be in too.
The DFB look for team players and as such if you can prove that in the interview it will be a great help. Basically the individual who like to works and achieve on his/her own is not wanted.
Have a general awareness of the DFB and the different things the DFB do like Fire and Rescue , Ambulance, Advanced Paramedic, Water rescue, Heights rescue, Road traffic Accident, Hazardous Substances, Marine emrgency response, Control room etc etc.
Hope ths helps

JR

userfriendly

As said above any involvement with a volunteer organisation will greatly help you in the recruitment process.

Also have a look into the Institute of Fire Engineers (IFE - www.ife.ie) Prelim course, it's a night course so you can fit it around work / school.

Have a look around www.irishfireservices.com and get an idea of what the job is about, info about the job is essential when it comes to your interview.

mel123

you have got to pass the aptitude test first, without passing this it doesnt matter if you have 50 relevant courses under your belt or weather you have been in the fire brigade in another country, u aint getting in!!

Paulzx

As previous poster has said interviews are allocated only on aptitude test results so your CV is irrelavent in getting an interview.

As regards doing courses to assist you in getting a job with the DFB i feel people seem to focus too much on this. You do not receive extra points in the interview for having relevant first aid or fire based courses completed. It does give you informstion to answer questions but remember the interview is a competancy based one so you should be able to apply your experiences in any job to the answers you give. This to me is borne out by the fact that there is a hugely diverse range of backgrounds working in DFB. The fact that you will be waiting a few years to apply says to me that you should be forging a career path at the moment that you are interested in and can continue on with if you are not successfull.

Best of luck

eroo

I've been told that if you know of anybody in DFB, keep in touch with them as they can let you know in advance of an upcoming recruitment campaign. Handy enough, seeing as they recruit on demand, could be every year or maybe only every 2 years.

Fyr.Fytr

They dont recruit on demand. They recruit roughly every 3-4 years. they extablish a panel of roughly 300 people. They then run recruit classes of 30 or so people until the panel is used up, then recruit again

Until i get in its general nursing for me

johnnyrotten

Fyr.Fytr wrote: »

They dont recruit on demand. They recruit roughly every 3-4 years. they extablish a panel of roughly 300 people. They then run recruit classes of 30 or so people until the panel is used up, then recruit again

Until i get in its general nursing for me

Panels are smaller now. Current Panel is made of 180.
The first class from that panel of about 46 are training at the moment, due to finish mid December.
The next class was earmarked for Jan '09 but may be put back for a good while as the DFB budget is in the RED.
Cut backs are going to be inevitable for the forseeable future.

Fyr.Fytr

180 blimmen eck!

How will dfb cover retirements/resignations and promotions then. Thats the real purpose of the recutingis to do that isnt it since ye work off minimum staffing levels.

People are stilling going to retire at the same rate etc

johnnyrotten

Fyr.Fytr wrote: »

180 blimmen eck!

How will dfb cover retirements/resignations and promotions then. Thats the real purpose of the recutingis to do that isnt it since ye work off minimum staffing levels.

People are stilling going to retire at the same rate etc

They'll probably hld off and bring in another large class.
The current class was delayed because of budget constraints too hence its larger size

Fyr.Fytr

Ok thanks johnny

Liam90

Is the new fire/ambulance service course in SCD worth doing to increase your chances?

Elessar

Liam90 wrote: »

Is the new fire/ambulance service course in SCD worth doing to increase your chances?

Basically, yes. Assuming you have no knowledge of the area, the course will provide you with EMT training, the opportunity to do the C licence, some fire training courses and a good background in things like anatomy&physiology etc. The more loaded your CV is with these things the better, and it will increase your chances of being called for interview. If you want to know more, PM me.

Paulzx

Elessar wrote: »

. The more loaded your CV is with these things the better, and it will increase your chances of being called for interview. If you want to know more, PM me.

As has been repeatedly said already in this thread your CV bears no relevance when allocating interviews. You could be an A+E consultant aswell as holding the title of Worlds Greatest Firefighter and you will not get an interview unless you score in the top few percent of the aptitude test.

Elessar

Paulzx wrote: »

As has been repeatedly said already in this thread your CV bears no relevance when allocating interviews. You could be an A+E consultant aswell as holding the title of Worlds Greatest Firefighter and you will not get an interview unless you score in the top few percent of the aptitude test.

I was thinking along the lines of after you had gotten a good grade in the aptitude. I guess for the DFB they don't look at CVs or related experience at any stage then?

Apart from the DFB there are other fire services both public and private where these things will stand to you at least, from what I am told.

Paulzx

Elessar wrote: »

I was thinking along the lines of after you had gotten a good grade in the aptitude. I guess for the DFB they don't look at CVs or related experience at any stage then?
.

Your initial post stated a CV was relevant in getting an interview. As i stated already this is not the case. However, at no stage did i say that experience would be discounted at interview stage. What is in your CV can then be used in the competancy based interview. But you must pass the aptitude first to get the interview.

I don't know whether i am being unclear in what i'm saying or whether you are just not reading the posts correctly